Self-leveling dispenser



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Jun@ 24:, E952 T. JENSEN SELF-LEVELING DISPENSER Filed March 3l, 1948 Q "Smic-11mm.

.Fume 24 1952 T. JENSEN 2,601,295

i SELF-LEVEL1NG DISPENSER ,l FIG. 4 I 20 Patented June 24, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SELFLLEVELING DISPENSER ApplicationMarch 31, 1948, Serial No. ,18,112

6 Claims.

This invention .relates to storing and dispensing apparatus'of theselffleveling type such4 as shown in U. S. Patent 2,251,874, granted. to WilliamJ. Gibbs on August 5th, 1941, andfmore particularly toA providing Ways and means. for varying the capacity of self-leveling dispensers of this general `class to carry :loads ofdiierent weight at. diiferent times.

The capacity of present day self-leveling dispenser/s is changed by hooking or unhooking springs untill the: required: numbenzof springs are found necessary to counterbalance the material being handled. Since each spring hassa prede` termi'ned rating measuredv in Apounds-per.' inch of travel, when the capacityofthe dispenser `is changed by unhookingindividual springs: it will necessarily have to beV infmultiplesof af predetermined number of pounds. Fori example if each spring in. a dispenser requires an initialpull off' lipounds to elongatey the spring: one inch. the capacity of thel dispenser has to be. ci'ian'ge'd`r in multiples vof 15 poundsbecauseeach unhooked spring representsia `15` pound.Y differential.

Changing' the capacity of the. dispenser by hooking and `unhooking` springs had the'v `disadvantage that: this. Vcould :not bereadily done when thedispenser had; a:substantial` load because the springs would thenbe in. anextended condition .inl supporting: the. load.

It is thereforean objecto'f this `invention to provide a device for varying: the capacity ofthe `dispenser which can :be AreadilyV operated". regard'- less4 of whether thel dispenser is'fullyloaded; partiaily loaded or empty;

A furtherl object" is to provide` a device for varying the` capacity ofia self leveling.` dispenser which an inexperienced` person can-quickly operaterwithout requiring any special skill..

Another object is to provide afdevioerwhich. will `infinitely vary'the capacity Vof a:self=levelingdis penser-to enable it to carrymaterial.. of different weight at different times.

linotltier` object is to'provide adevice'for changingrth'e carrying capacity of a self-leveling; dispenser wherein ther-amount; of change will not be restricted to the `weight carrying capacity of the individual springs used in the dispenser.

A further' object is Vto provide.Y adevicewhich will enable thespringtension to be increased when a dispenser :is fully J-loaded to^overcomexany friction betwee'nrti'iev niateria'l. stored' and' `the material `supports:surrounding;the path of travel of theV material `carrying'wplatform.

Another object is toi'provdemechanism'ifor changing the modulus ofi-resistance tomotion of the material carrying platform. of a` selfleveling `storing and dispensing apparatus while maintaining the modulus of elasticity of springs constant.

A further object is to provide a lever mechanism for interconnecting the springs of a selfleveling storing and dispensing` apparatus Which will enable the mechanical advantage thereof to be varied to change the capacity of `the ap paratus.

Other objects and features of the inventionwill appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanying' drawings. which form a part of this specification, like char*- acters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which makeup the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a self-leveling storing and dispensing apparatus taken on the line I.-| of Fig. 4 illustrating the mechanism. used for changing the capacity of the dispenser.

Fig. 2 shows the control knob for changing the capacity of the self-leveling dispenser taken `on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a top View of the mechanism for changing the capacity of the self-leveling dispenser taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. shcws an end view ofthe mechanism, for changing the capacity of the self-leveling dis penser taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

This invention relates toV the class of selfleveling dispensers `.such as shown -in the Gibbs Patent 2,251,874, referred to above. The. `dispenser consists of an enclosure of housing having side walls I0, I2, Il!A and |16 (Figs. 1 and 3). The lower part of side walls I0, I 2, I4 and I are attached to a suitable. base I8 which may be `mounted on conventional swivel casters V20- to render theV storage andY dispensing unit readily movable.

The upper surface 22 of the dispenser is provided with a suitable opening 24connecting with the inner shell 25 in v/-hicha table or material carrying platform 25 is raised and lowered'.

The vertical path of travel of the platform carrier 2t is surrounded by an inner shell 2'5 similar to that shown in copending application of Christopher Bockius, S. N. 736,479, filed March 22, 19.47.

Bolts 2S are' attached to the' underside ofthe carrier platform 25 by suitable mea-ns such Vas welding` and have adjustably connected thereto at their llower ends` brackets 3!)` bymeans of nuts Brackets 38 irl-supporting the platform 26 travel up and down in narrow slots 3| formed in the inner shell 25.

Elongated flexible members such as sprocket chains 34, 36, 38 and 40 are connected at; one end to the brackets and are trained over pulleys or sprockets 4|, 42, 44, 46 and 46 respectively and under sprockets 50, 52, 54 and 56 and are adjustably connected at their other end to the brackets 58 which are attached to the upper portion of the housing 22. Sprockets 4| are mounted in suitable bearings attached to the side Walls |4 and |6. Sprockets 42, 44, 46 and 48 are xedly connected to the shaft 60 which is rotatably supported at opposite ends in the bearings 62 and 64 which are attached to the side walls I 4 and |6.

The sprockets 50, 52, 54, and 56 are mounted on the saddle shaft 66. Bracket connections 68 and 'I0 are loosely mounted on the saddle shaft 66 and are held in position by suitable collars 'I2 and 'I4 which are fixed to the saddle shaft 66. Suitable cables '|6 and T8 are connected at one end to the brackets 68 and 10 respectively and are wound up at their other end on suitable cable drums 80 and 82 respectively. The cable drums 80 and 82 are xedly mounted on a shaft 84 which is rotatably supported at its opposite ends in suitable bearings 86 and 88 attached to the side walls I4 and I6.

The shaft 64 has a pinion 90 xedly mounted t thereon meshing With a gear segment 62 which is fixedly mounted on a shaft 64. Shaft 64 is rotatably supported at opposite ends in a suitable bracket 96 mounted on the base I8 and is held in place by means of a collar 60 which is also fixedly mounted on shaft 94. A pair of lugs |00 and |02 are attached to one side of the gear segment 02 and support a screw |04 at opposite ends. One end of the screw |04 projects through the lug |00 and carries a bevel gear |66 which meshes with a second bevel gear I 08.

The bevel gear |08 is fixedly mounted on the end of a shaft I0 which is freely mounted in the collar 88. A splined shaft ||2 slidably engaging with a sleeve ||3 is provided with universal joints ||4 and ||6 thereby yieldably interconnecting shaft ||0 with shaft ||8. The shaft ||6 is supported in a suitable bearing of bracket |28 attached to the side wall I6 and has xedly mounted thereon a bevel gear |22.

Bevel gear |22 meshes with a bevel gear |24 xedly mounted on the shaft |26. The shaft |26 is rotatably supported at opposite ends in brackets |28 and |30. The upper end of shaft |26 (Fig. 1) has a bevel gear |32 fixedly mounted thereon. The bevel gear |32 meshes with another bevel gear |34 which is fixedly mounted on a shaft |36. Th shaft |36 is rotatably supside wall l0 and has an adjusting knob |40 fixedly mounted on the end projecting outside the housing |0.

A scale |42 is attached to the housing I0. A pointer |44 mounted on the knob |40 indicates which way to turn the knob to raise or lower the level of the material on platform 26 to properly counterbalance it with the type of load being supported.

A block |46 is threaded on the screw |04 and is prevented from rotating by means of a stationary guide |48 which is connected at opposite ends to the lugs |00 and |02 (Fig. 1). By rotating the knob it will cause the screw |04 to rotate, thus moving the block |46 along the length of the axis of screw |04 and thereby ported in a suitable bearing |38 mounted on the i change the mechanical advantage of the lever mechanism that the screw |04 forms a part of. An anchor |52 is connected to a stud |50 which projects from the block |46.V Cable |54, which is connected at one end to the anchor I 52, travels around the pulley |56 and is connected at its opposite end to a suitable anchor |58 mounted on the shaft |60. Shaft |60 is xedly connected at its opposite ends to the side walls I4 and |6 of the dispensing apparatus.

The pulley |56 is freely mounted on a stud |62 which is supported at opposite ends in the yoke |64. Yoke |64 is connected by means of cable |66 to a oating shaft |68. The shaft |60 carries at opposite ends suitable connectors |16 and |'|2 which are attached to the ends of sprocket chains |74 and |16 respectively. The sprocket chains |14 and |16 are trained around the sprockets and |82 freely mounted in suitable bearings attached to the side walls I4 and I6. The opposite end of sprocket chains |14 and |`l8 are attached to a second saddle shaft |84 which is supported in the lower hooks |86 of calibrated tension springs |88. The calibrated tension springs are of such design that they expand and contract at a uniform rate corresponding to the force of distortion exerted on the springs.

The upper end |90 of calibrated tension springs |88 is attached to adjustable hooks |62. The side wall |2 (Fig. 1) is provided with a door |94 having a hinge |96 to allow the operating mechanism of the dispensing apparatus to be readily accessible.

The operation of my invention may be briefly described as follows:

When the storage and dispensing apparatus l.. assembled suitable adjustments are made by means of nuts 32 so that the table 26 is supported in a Vhorizontal position by all four sprocket chains 34, 36, 38 and 40. The sprocket 'chains 34, 36, 38 and 40 are interconnected for equal movement with one another through the shaft 60 on which the sprockets 42, 44, 46, and 48 are fxedly mounted. Therefore when the shaft 60 is rotated all four chains will have to move an equal distance in the same direction.

The opposite ends of sprocket chains 34, 36, 38 and 40 are adjusted by means of anchor bolts 59 to equalize the length of the chains so that they all assist in supporting the saddle shaft 66. The hooks |92 (shown in Fig. 1) are similarly adjusted so that all of the springs |88 apply approximately the same amount of support to the second saddle shaft |84.

The height of the material extending above the top 22 of the dispenser is sometimes referred to as a head load. The extent to which the "head load builds up before the platform 26 begins to descend, depends upon the adjustment of the counter-balance of the table platform 26 as well as the weight and shape of the material being handled. When the counterbalance is properly adjusted it allows a headload to be built up to a predetermined height above the top of the dispenser, before the platform begins to descend due to additional material being stacked on the platform.

The yieldability of platform 26 is controlled by the amount of'force applied to the saddle 'shaft I66 through cables I6 and 18. Heretofore the yieldability or material handling capacity of the platform 26 has been varied or changed by either adding or removing springs to or from the total number of active springs exerting force on the saddle shaft 66.

.acercas In th'e'fpresentlinvention itis no.` longer necessary tot either hook. or unhook: springs to= obtain the amountof; force" desired .to` counterbalance thevweightl 'ofmaterial beinghandled. Instead one merely has` tov turn the` control knob |40 until the: requiredamountof tension is `obtained to properly counterbalance the material supported' on the platform.

As theknob` |40 is turned it causes the splined shaft ||2'1 toabe'` rotated' through the connecting shaft |20. The rotation of` thev splined shaft H2` causes` the bevel gear' HI8-.to rotate the bevel gear |06. Thezrotationof therbevel gear l-liii` turns the screw |041 which causes' the 'block hlt to travel1 along the lengtlrof the; screw |104 The screw |04-L together.l with'block Mfattaclred: to the gear: segment `9:2 is forlall practical purposes-a1 lever system. By moving the blockl'ld'zalong-f the screwV IM the effectiveforce exertedl by the saddleifshaft4 B5: and1 the springs |88 onAU eaclrA other through the lever .system is proportionately" varied` In; .thel arrangement shown in Fig. l the cable |54 exerts a forceon theA screw |018` in a direction substantially at right angles thereto.

When the 4knob |40 is turned so that the block |46 is closely adjacent to the bracket |02 the table 26 will be the least yieldable and the springs |88 will `be transmitting the greatest amount of tension to the table. When the knob |40 is turned in the opposite direction to bring the block |`46closelyadjacent tothe bracket H30 the tableiplatform 215` willbe the most yieldable and the springs |88 will exert the least `arnount of tension on the table. As the block |46 travels from one extreme position to the other along the screw |04 the sensitivity of the table 26 is gradually changed Without the requiring of any y of the springs |88 to be unhooked.

The table platform 26 and the inner shell 25 is of a construction similar to that shown in the copending application of Christopher Bockius, S. N. 736,479, led March 22, 1947, which permits this apparatus to be used for supporting not only tote boxes and material of uniform weight and thickness which is capable of being stacked but also material in bulk which will be supported in part by the inner shell and the platform 25.

When bulk material is stored in the dispenser it is sometimes found that the bulk material exerts a lesser pressure or wedging effect upon the inner shell 25 when the material travels downwardly on being loaded onto the platform, than when the dispenser is being unloaded and the material is lifted upwardly by the platform 26.

Therefore while the counterbalancing of the table platform 26 with the springs |88 is adequate and satisfactory when the table is in the process of being lowered it is not satisfactory when the table is in the process of being raised due to the added friction. In my present invention this problem is solved by turning the knob to increase the tension exerted on the table 26 an amount suilcient to overcome the increased friction between the inner shell 25 and the material as the table 2B is raised.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

6 What i'sclaime'd is: 1.` Storing and. dispensing apparatus, of the type wherein material isl freelyv supported on a platform which is balanced to maintain the upper part ofthe materialsupported thereon at a constant predetermined level with respect to the top.

of saidfapparatus comprising, a framework, elongated ii'exib'le members trained over suitable guiding members at the top of said framework and connected at one end' to said platform, a device taking upA or` letting out said elongated members as said platform is raised` or lowered in said framework, a crank armA pivotally connected to said framework, spring tension` means connected at one end. to saidu framework and at the other endv to acon'n'ection. on said crank arm, means for rr'iovingA said connection along the length of said arm. to vary the force exerted by said spring tension means on said. device, and mechanism for interconnecting the crank arm with said device to cause the crankv arm and said device to move distances proportional to` each other.

2'. Storing and dispensing apparatus of the general type whereinmaterial is counterbalanced vby means of'springsi' to maintainthe top thereof at a constant'predetermined level comprising., a material supporting platform, iiexible members for lowering and raising said platform, :a shaft having means for winding and unwinding said flexible members thereon, a lever arm` adapted to be swung in an arc,v mechanism interconnecting' said arm with said shaft to move said arm and rotate saidshaft distancesproportional to each other, a slide movable along said lever arm, springs constructed and arranged for storing and releasing energy at a uniform rate corresponding directly with the amount of movement of said springs, means for connecting one end of said springs to said dispensing apparatus and the other end of said springs to said slide, and a knob for moving said slide along said lever :arm to regulate the amount of force exerted by said springs to counterbalance material supported on said platform and thereby maintain the top of the material supported on said platform at a constant predetermined level.

3. A self leveling material storing and dispensing apparatus comprising, a housing, a table adapted and arranged to have free vertical movement within said housing, elongated :flexible members for lowering and raising said table, means for actuating said elongated :flexible members to raise and lower said table, said ac tuating means including, a drum for winding up and unwinding said elongated flexible members to raise and lower said table, a gear for rotating said drum, a gear segment for actuating said gear, a lever arm associated with said gear segment, a connection adapted and arranged to be moved along the length of said lever arm, and a calibrated spring connected at one end to said housing and at the other end to the connection mounted on said lever arm to thereby exert a force on said gear segment varying directly with the position of said connection on said lever arm.

4. A self leveling material storing and dispensing apparatus comprising, a housing, a table reciprocable vertically within said housing for supporting material so that the top of the material is maintained at a predetermined level with respect to the top of said housing, sprocket chains from which said table is suspended, a rotary member associated with said sprocket chains for lowering and raising said table, a lever arm interconnected with said rotary member for movement therewith, calibrated springs anchored at one end to said housing and connected at the other end to a movable connection mounted on said lever arm, and means for moving said movable connection, along the length of said lever arm to change the amount of force exerted by said rotary member on said sprocket chains for counterbalancing material supported on said table and maintaining the top of said material at a constant predetermined level.

5. A storing and dispensing apparatus of the self leveling type comprising, a housing, a movable platform for supporting material stored in said apparatus, elongated exible members connected at one end to said platform, a plurality of pulleys over which said elongated flexible members pass, anchors for connecting the other end of said elongated iiexible members Vto said housing, a saddle shaft supported by a loop formed in said elongated flexible members between said anchors and said pulleys, a drum having means connected to said saddle shaft for lowering and raising said platform to counterbalance the weight of materials supported therecn and automatically maintain the top of the material at a constant predetermined level, a gear segment interconnected with said drum, an arm joined for movement with said gear segment and extending radially from the point about which the gear segment rotates, a block movable along the length of said arm, calibrated spring tension means connected to said block so that the pulling force exerted thereon Will be along a path substantially in line with the 8 arc said block swings when said gear segment is rotated, and a device for changing the position of said block along said arms to vary the force exerted by said spring tension means on said elongated flexible members.

6. A self leveling storing and dispensing apparatus comprising, a vertically movable carrier platform, calibrated springs for counterbalancing said platform to maintain the top of the material supported on the platform at substantially the same level regardless of Whether material is added or removed from the material already supported on the platform, a pivoted lever having input and output connections, iiexible members interconnecting said springs With one of the connections of said lever, a second set of flexible members interconnecting said carrier platform with the other of said connections of said lever and means for moving one of said connections toward and away from the pivot of said lever to change the output force of said lever and thereby change the load carrying capacity of said carrier platform.

THORMOD JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,870,344 Neumann Aug. 9, 1932 2,241,730 McKinney May 13, 1941 2,251,874 Gibbs l Aug. 5, 1941 

